Introduction of passenger services to Okehampton
What’s happening?
We’re working in partnership with Great Western Railway (GWR) and Devon County Council to reopen the Dartmoor Line from Okehampton to Exeter on 20 November 2021.
The reopening of the Dartmoor Line will be the first line to be reinstated under the Department for Transport’s ‘Restoring your Railway‘ initiative that will, for the first time in almost 50 years, provide a regular, daily passenger rail service between Okehampton and Exeter. The railway will also provide better access to and from the wider West Devon and North Cornwall areas.
Since the beginning of 2020 we have been carrying out detailed investigations to understand what infrastructure improvements are needed in order for GWR to operate passenger trains safely on the Dartmoor Line.
These ground and track investigations are almost complete and having received Government approval and full funding for the project, our engineers are now working to prepare the line and associated infrastructure for passenger trains to run later this year.
The work includes laying over 11 miles of track, replacing 24,000 concrete sleepers and installing nearly 29,000 tonnes of ballast before running test trains on the track ahead of fully reopening the railway to passengers.
The Dartmoor Line
GWR train services will run between Exeter and Okehampton, initially providing a service every two hours, which will rise to an hourly service from summer 2022.
Exeter is a key hub for the wider region providing a whole host of connections to the rest of the United Kingdom from Exeter St Davids. The new rail service will also provide access for education, work, shopping as well as other opportunities on offer in the city.
Okehampton
Okehampton is a historic town situated on the northern flank of Dartmoor National Park and is also the start of The Granite Way, a 11 mile multi-use trail connecting Okehampton with Lydford.
The new service will open up sustainable access to various leisure opportunities in the town and surrounding areas.